one year anniversary sale!

It doesn't quite feel like it's been this long, but tomorrow marks one year since I opened my shop on Etsy. To celebrate, I'm having a little sale in my shop- all items are 20% off until Friday. I've learned so much in the past year and I'm excited to see what this next year brings. Thank you to anyone who has supported me thus far!

to visit fanciness, click ---> here

letters from the past.

Do you remember a year ago this time? I still have the comic valentine which I received then, also the good one that came afterwards. I have to laugh to think what a kid I was. But then one couldn't blame me. Spoiled as I was by those I met. I don't think you would know me now.

Yours Sincerely,

Myrtle

c. 1921

like a dream.

i know i say this about a lot of dresses, but this 1920s lanvin dress truly has to be one of the best dresses of all time. it's simple and classic, and it's by far one of my absolute favorites. infact, i could fashion my entire dream wardrobe out of vintage lanvin.

all garments from metmuseum.org

from top:

1926 silk and wool couture dress ensemble

1923 spring/summer couture line

1925-26 fall/winter silk couture evening dress

1922 robe de style of cotton, silk, glass, metal

1923 spring/summer "roseraie" silk evening dress

1928 silk blouse- couture line

1946 silk blouse

nothing is ever as good as it was.

things have been rough lately.

and i'd pretty much give anything to feel like this again.

xx

oakhill flea.

the flea market i mentioned in my previous post, oakhill flea, ended up being pretty good. i managed to come home with a few little treasures for myself and maybe some for my other shop, thefoxparade. i didn't take any photos while i was there because we arrived kind of late and i was trying to hurry to see all the booths before they packed up and left but a couple of the booths were really good, although some had crazy, unreasonable prices. i came away with some fun things, like old junky glass bottles and little floral hankies (both of which i have plenty but can never seem to resist bringing home anyway), and some cotton twine for packages which i always snap up whenever i find because even though i don't use it up very quickly, i never know when i'll come across it again and i don't want to run out. the loot:

 glass coca-cola bottle c. 1940s

 little photo frame to fill with dried flowers, since i missed out on that one at the antique shop and need to re-create that loveliness!

floral hankies to keep or gift or use with shop packaging. between hankies and antique crochet doilies i have dozens but always snag them anyway because they're so pretty and don't take up much space.

there was one grumpy old curmudgeon of a man at one booth who, when my brother brought me over to show me an old blood pressure monitor, shooed him out of the way, saying "don't fiddle with that, it's older than you are!" to which my brother replied, "so it's not for sale then?" the man said it was, and my brother and i made comments about how silly it was to not let people interested in buying something test it out or even touch it, and ultimately walked away. other than that, everyone was nice and friendly and a few were a little strange but all in all it was good. after the flea, my mom and brother and i went to a pub called mulligan's for lunch and then we were all pretty tired and went home. my mom and i spent the rest of the evening being lazy on the couch watching shows about antiques and auctions, and that's about it.

in exciting news, i asked my mom if she would be interested in driving to savannah one weekend, just to poke around in antique shops and eat at little places and be lazy, and she said she would, so i'm going to start planning and sorting out the details pretty soon.

ideally i'd like to stay at a pretty bed and breakfast in the historic district, like the hamilton-turner inn, which may or may not be haunted, although i'm sure that's out of my price range at the moment. we'll most likely be going in about a month or so, so if anyone is familiar with the area and has any suggestions regarding where to stay, eat, shop, etc, please let me know!

unmentionables.

today was purposefully uneventful, as it was one of the growing number of sad dates on the calendar that make me want to do nothing but stay in bed all day. i was able to coerce myself out of bed (though not out of pajamas) to photograph a few things, however. here's a sneak peek of some pretty 1920s/30s undergarments that i will be sticking in the shop soon, with the exception of a few which i will be keeping or hanging on my wall.

 these are my favorite, light pink silk 1920s tap pants with minty green piping. my favorite color combination, and i love the detailed stitching.

                              

 super pretty 1930s bras. i'm keeping at least one of these but i'll have to add some material to the back. as small as my ribcage is, there's a good two inches before the two ends will touch. i'm thinking of getting some similar fabric and sewing it to one end and moving the hook and eye closure. if it doesn't end up working, this one will be hanging on my wall. way too pretty to hide away in a drawer. 

(the j.c penney co. acquired the crescent corset company in 1920)

lace embroidered 1920s or 30s bed jacket that needs a good steaming. i'm planning to look for a new garment steamer tomorrow, i want a stand-up one this time because they are so much easier than the hand held ones. when i worked at bcbg years ago, one of my favorite things to do was steam the new shipments of dresses because they had the best, best steamer that made wrinkles disappear in an instant. i've seen similar ones but they're pretty expensive. maybe i'll invest in one soon.

amazing light pink brocade corset, i haven't been able to date this yet but i'm thinking it might be older than 1920s. it has some condition issues, but still pretty spectacular nonetheless. anyone with knowledge on dating corsets, feel free to contact me!

most of these will be showing up in the shop very soon, if you see anything you're interested in you can definitely message me for more information and photos before i list them.

even though i'd rather stay home in pjs again, i talked myself into most likely going to a promising flea market with my brother tomorrow. the flea market we have here in town is pretty shoddy to be honest, they have a few good booths with vintage clothing and there's a really nice antique camera shop i always drool over, and a guy with the best selection of records i've ever seen, which he practically gives away (although i'm not even sure if he's still there anymore, it's been so long), but for the most part, it's comprised of booths selling gross ed hardy stuff or knock off bags. last time i was at my favorite antique shop, i overheard a lady saying that she finds a good deal of the things for her booth at a particular flea in another town, so even though it's a bit of a drive, i enlisted my brother to come with me to check it out. i'm hoping it's the kind of flea market that's sort of jumbled and junky and filled with booths run by sweet old people who give good bargains and chat you up with great stories about their youth while you dig through boxes of old clothes or photos. i hope my expectations aren't too high, because i'm not sure if that scenario even exists. i'll be sure to snap some photos if it does.

hair inspiration.

my hair is naturally fairly curly, so i typically just blow dry it straight and then twist it up into a loose bun and pin it in place. when i'm ready to leave the house, i take the pins out and let it down, and the result is big loose, slightly imperfect waves. since i've been doing it this way, i've always thought of it as the type of hair you see on a damsel in a silent film; the ones who have their hair pinned up perfectly and then fall down a hill, or get kidnapped, or shaken violently, or some other cliché silent film-era distress, and their hair just sort of falls around their shoulders, all loose and messy but still completely beautiful. aside from my bangs (which are largely 60s inspired at the moment), i like to think that that's what my hair looks like most days. watching boardwalk empire, i couldn't help be inspired by margaret shroeder's gorgeous, slightly careless-looking tousled locks, which seems fairly easy to achieve using the same routine i've been doing and using a large barreled curling iron to add fuller curls here and there. makes me want to grow out my bangs again!

hair perfection:

in additon to hair envy, i can't help but drool over the amazing beaded dresses and lovely cotton tops she wears. one of my favorite dresses from the show:

i love the detail on this top, and in one of my favorite colors right now, sage. :

the perfect everyday blouse, with the perfect little collar to match:

on a related note, i've been adding to my collection of pretty 1920s and 30s underthings lately- tap pants, corsets, flapper bras, etc, and purchased a 1930s lot this week. while not always practical, they're perfect to hang on walls and will undoubtedly pretty up any room!

(all images found via google search)